Billow

$5.99 100g / hank

Billow is all about creature comforts: oversized cowls and wraps, lazy weekend pullovers, and cozy blankets that hug you back. Eight plies of super soft pima cotton create a thick and thin texture for a feel that is both rustic and modern all at once. A bulky weight yarn, Billow works up quickly while the luxuriously soft feel makes it the perfect treat for those with sensitive skin. With a contemporary and sophisticated palette that spans 16 stunning colors, Billow’s cloud-like softness is sure to tempt your needles and hooks to cast on your next project right away.Browse by color

Billow is like knitting with cream. It's like swimming in cream. Breathing in cream. Trying to organize cream and have faith in the tensile strength of strands of cream. I have purchased four colors (Tea Rose, Clarity, Ice Lilly and Gosling) and in all four sets, at least one of the hanks was somewhat tedious to unwind and ball. It seemed that the hanks were "Mobius'd" in on themselves, if one can describe it that way. I can't stand that the thin part of the yarn goes abruptly down to lace-weight. It is worrisome that the yarn will break. Pilling is also definitely a problem even before the project is finished. And in winding the balls and knitting, I have inhaled much fluff. Why did I purchase four sets of Billow? Because the colorways are GORGEOUS. I simply cannot find 100% Pima cotton in "bulk weight" that is this inexpensive that has such a sophisticated color palette as Billow. However, after the four projects I'm working on, I will not be using Billow again. It's really too bad. If I had to name just the one worst aspect of this yarn, I would say the Thin is TOO THIN. The one best aspect is the sophistication in color.

5 out of 5 stars

Traci01-15-2015 7:58pm

So so so soft and I love the thick and thin texture! This is not only my favorite knit picks yarn but it's my top absolute favorite yarn to work with ever. It's absolutely beautiful, luscious and decadent yet still amazingly affordable. Please make more colors! That's my only complaint is that billow isn't available in more colors!

4 out of 5 stars

Becky01-04-2015 8:23am

I LOVE the way this yarn feels its sooo soft and nice and heavy. I'm making a blanket out of it and I cannot wait for it to be finished. I will say the extreme varying in thickness is a little odd. I've used several yarns that vary in thickness but not to the extreme of this one. It doesn't effect my pattern, so it is not a problem for me, but I can see how it would be a problem for others. As far as the pilling, I've gotten some pilling and some shedding, but not a whole lot. I'm in love with the Cadet color. Its the PERFECT blue gray.

4 out of 5 stars

Madison11-10-2014 12:01pm

Hasn't pilled too badly for me but my garment hasn't seen a lot of wear yet. I am IN LOVE with colorways and look forward to more. A pumpkin orange and/or a bloodorangey red would be stellar, haha. Really, just any red at all could go so well with many of these colors!

2 out of 5 stars

Sarah08-22-2014 1:16pm

I absolutely love the colors this yarn is offered in and I'm a big fan of the thick and thin style; It gives my crochet pieces gorgeous texture. And while this yarn is a joy to work with and insanely soft, finished pieces are pretty much unusable because the yarn disintegrates all over whatever you are wearing...unless you want to carry a lint roller around in your pocket.

5 out of 5 stars

Barb08-19-2014 5:12pm

I love this yarn. I live the thin and thick. It makes for unique cowls and afghans. I have made for warm your sweetheart crochet cowls twice as long as the pattern calls for and two chevron blankets.

4 out of 5 stars

Vanessa07-29-2014 7:01pm

While I agree with the other reviews listed here regarding shedding and unevenness, I still love this yarn. I can't believe how soft it is. I just finished crocheting a blanket for a wedding gift and immediately bought more yarn to make one for my husband and me ( especially since he kept commenting on how much he loved the blanket). So yes, this does get a bit uneven (not super noticeable for a crocheted afghan, though) and it does shed a lot, but man if you're not going to have something super cozy at the end of your project!

4 out of 5 stars

Yuliya07-09-2014 10:41am

I ordered this yarn in Clarity color, it was for a newborn photoshoot costume (pants and a hat) and it worked great! The color is as pictured, I winded yarn in a ball by hand with no problem, it looked like it was going to peel while knitting but actually it didn't! For me thick&thin aspect wasn't super bad, I expected bigger difference in thickness after reading the reviews. I think I used 5mm needles and just plain stockinett looks great. It's very soft and nice to skin (a little heavy though, but it was expected too). Overall pleased and would order again, I have a cardi in mind for it.

2 out of 5 stars

Brenda Hayes07-02-2014 7:23pm

Yarn is think in some places and thin in others which makes it hard to knit with. I used the yarn to make a cardigan. The yarn is very soft, but when I wore the cardigan, I had fuzz all over my pants.

1 out of 5 stars

Sigrun06-26-2014 2:42pm

Sorry..not a fan at all! The thick and thin parts makes my knitting urn out horrible..uneven and messy..never again! Plus it pills like crazy...my white pants are grey, my black ones are have white fuzz all over them...never again!

5 out of 5 stars

Sati Glenn06-01-2014 6:25am

This yarn is so soft and smooth. I love the thick-n-thin aspect of it, too; it makes for an interesting FO. The colors are amazing. It is a bit "dusty" to work with, but whatever, not that big of a deal. All in all, I love this yarn so much, and look forward to using it again.

5 out of 5 stars

Leslie05-29-2014 1:13pm

I LOVE this yarn! Beyond softness, one of the qualities I enjoy the most is the varying thickness. It gives it the look of a hand spun and makes the finished product look that much more interesting. The colors are rich and saturated, and I hope you will bring it to us in a wider palette! KnitPicks is the best knitting site I've found -- I'm a loyal customer forever!

4 out of 5 stars

Debbi S05-13-2014 12:38pm

I ordered this yarn to knit a sweater that called for bulky yarn.
Cons: The description says "slightly thick and thin" but to me, it's a lot more than slightly. As others have posted, it is a frequent change and it changes all the way to a fingering/lace weight yarn. I truly wouldn't have ordered it, if the description was accurate. Secondly, it sheds. A lot. I am hoping that will stop.
Pros: It is honestly the softest yarn I have ever touched. I am finding it very enjoyable to knit with. The colors are gorgeous and have a lot of depth.
I would definitely order more of this yarn for other projects. As a matter of fact, I am planning to knit a sweater for my son with it. I just need to remember the thick/thin issue.

5 out of 5 stars

Karen04-21-2014 11:07am

I love this yarn, it is positively the softest I have ever touched. I love the varying thickness, in a double-knit scarf it provides such an interesting added dimension. I'm annoyed at the people leaving bad reviews because they didn't read the product description regarding varying thickness. My only wish is for a larger colour palette.

2 out of 5 stars

Linda04-10-2014 2:08pm

I love the feel and colors, however the width varies significantly every 3-5 inches, which creates uneven stitches and easy tangles. I'm having such a bitter sweet love affair with this yarn. I love the softness but the width issues are too much

3 out of 5 stars

Mandi Fulwood03-06-2014 6:27pm

Billow is super soft and the colors are absolutely gorgeous! That said, I have the same problem that other reviewers had with the yarn thickness. It is just barely a bulky weight yarn to begin with, and the thickness is extremely inconsistent. It will be worsted weight for a few inches, then narrow all the way to lace weight! The narrow parts usually only last a few inches but it's enough to make for some very uneven stitches. I'm making a few different cowls with this yarn but there are gaps where the yarn is so skinny. Not sure I would buy this yarn again unless the consistency issues are resolved :(

5 out of 5 stars

Sue02-23-2014 12:19am

I haven't started working with it yet but they are soooooo soft (!!!) and the colors are gorgeous down to earth tones and very well saturated. I'm definitely buying more of billow, I just wish they had more colors!

5 out of 5 stars

Penny02-12-2014 2:11pm

Loved this yarn. The varying thickness kept my plain stitch interesting and the yarn is so soft. The colors are also wonderful!

5 out of 5 stars

Lauren02-08-2014 9:00pm

I love this yarn! It is very soft to touch, and easily worked up. I ordered my Billow yarn for a granny square throw project, and could not be more pleased with the quality of the material, as well as the colours I chose (Sagebrush, Gosling, and Comfrey).
Like another reviewer, I also found the areas of the yarn where the diameter was finer, could be difficult to create a uniform look (especially because I am crocheting granny squares).
Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed working with this yarn!! :)

1 out of 5 stars

Carlene01-29-2014 7:49am

I did not like the yarn. It ranged from extremely thin to somewhat thick. I'm not sure why this is considered in the bulky yarn category. I still made an infinity scarf, but the cotten leaves pills all over my wool coat. Not a fan.

3 out of 5 stars

Andreane Cantin01-03-2014 4:06am

Well, the yarn isnt bulky all the time, one inch is bulky than it turns fingering... the result is not clear at all...

1 out of 5 stars

KnitMeg12-22-2013 6:55pm

I was convinced this was some of the best yarn ever until I noticed little bits of it all over my clothes and furniture and I kept feeling its tiny fibers getting into my eyes and nose and throat while I was working with it. Halfway thru my full sized blanket I realized it pills like nobody's business. It's so bad that I can't give the blanket as a gift as I had planned because I'd hate for the recipient to have to deal with this. Very, very disappointed.

5 out of 5 stars

maeGatineau11-26-2013 7:16am

I would like to knit the Infinity it says 300g billow does that mean 2 balls of 100g ?and where can i buy the yarn please

4 out of 5 stars

Celia07-29-2013 8:12pm

Wonderful soft yarn! So fun to work with. My only complaint is that the thin portion of the yarn is sometimes the thickness of sewing thread, which always makes me nervous when working a pattern. I think a bit more attention to the diameter of the thin portion of the yarn (e.g., making it a bit thicker so that the thread weight is gone) will make this superb yarn even better in the future. Can't wait for the colors to be restocked, and possibly expanded! :)

5 out of 5 stars

Alicia Carpenter07-05-2013 4:13pm

In LOVE with Billow yarn. Just knitted a beautiful infinity scarf with it and its so soft and modern. Just wish there were even more colour options in this yarn

5 out of 5 stars

Mike05-13-2013 12:31am

The colors are what first drew me in with Billow. They are subtle yet saturated, and look beautiful together in any combination. Knitting and crocheting with cotton yarn has been a love-hate sort of endeavor for me, but Billow turned that to love. It's soft and doesn't leave my hands feeling chafed. I'll definitely buy more.